Walton schools looking for land (DOCUMENT)

Friday

DeFUNIAK SPRINGS — The Walton County School District is looking for land.

District officials started hunting for property in the south end after noticing the growth trend in the area appears to be continuing, according to Superintendent of Schools Carlene Anderson.

It isn't clear what grade level of school will be built, but acquiring land clearly is necessary based on the last nine years of data, she said.

“We’ve got to find us some property,” Anderson told the Walton County School Board on Thursday.

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Between May 2009 and May 2013, about 77 percent of the school district’s population growth has been in South Walton, according to Tom Blackshear, the school district‘s facilities planner.

Ideally, the district would like to find 30 to 40 acres, but that is proving difficult because South Walton has grown so rapidly and so much land lies in flood zones and wetlands or is owned by government agencies such as the Florida Forest Service, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Northwest Florida Water Management District.

“There’s lots of land constraints on the land down there,” Blackshear said.

Officials have identified a few possible locations, but are most interested in a parcel two miles east of Emerald Coast Middle School.

The property is mostly useable, has been cleared and has a road in front of it, Blackshear told the School Board.

Board members didn’t offer much direction Thursday, but Anderson pressed them to consider making a decision soon.

“I want to know what else you want us to do,” she said. “Because this parcel is clear, there will be a road put through it, probably not at our expense.”

Blackshear said there is no exact timeline to buy property, but added that he hopes it will work out soon.